The Bible alone?

There's a good discussion going on over at Internet Monk around the question "How much can the Bible do alone?" Michael Spencer observes the emphasis that evangelicals put on mass Bible distribution and suggests that this is a focus that sets them apart from other branches of Christianity.

I think most of us would agree that the Bible is sufficient unto itself to change the life of someone who reads it, even without any outside instruction or guidance. And I think most of us would also agree that the input of fellow believers and teachers enhances our understanding of Scripture and can make it easier to grasp.

It's Friday, and I don't have a big point to make with this, but I'm curious about your experiences. A few questions to think about:
  • Do you know anybody who came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ by only reading the Bible, without a church, evangelist, or any sort of study guide to help them? (Did you come to Christ in this way?)
  • When you suggest that somebody read the Bible, what guidance (if any) do you give them about how and what parts they should read?
  • What's the best "guide" to reading the Bible that you've come across?

Login to comment

IMPORTANT Did you have an account on the old ThinkChristian.net site? Click here transition your account. This will sync all your comments with your email address.

Comments (19)

Great questions!

1. I have a friend, a former Mormon, who was challenged to read the Bible alongside her Book of Mormon. She said that the more she read, the more she saw the discrepancies of the two books, and realized she had not placed her faith in Christ at all with Mormonism. She came to our church after realizing she had become a believer in the Lord.

2. My only advice to people reading the Scripture for the first time (not original, from H.A. Ironside's mom, relayed in one of his books, still the best advice I have seen): Start at John Chapter 3, or Romans Chapter 3.

3. Anything written by Warren W. Wiersbe
That's how I came to Christ. I grew up in church, but was not a believer. When I determined to read the Bible through at the age of 30, I only went into the project with the understanding that it was true. Better put, I decided to take it as true, though I had serious doubts. I didn't attend any church during this period nor did I live a life of piety. I just read my 3 (or so) chapters a day and recorded my thoughts online to prove to my father that I had read the Bible. My initial plan was to then tell him to leave me alone about religion and continue to live life my own way.

During this time, even before I got to the NT, I was convicted of my sin and my need of a savior. Jesus was revealed to me as that savior. I can't say that I had no knowledge of Christianity before this by any stretch, but I did not know God.

I usually suggest the book of John when someone asks where to start. If they attend a church after that, I ask the pastor of that church to suggest further reading for them.

The best guide I can suggest is the one I used, a chronological Bible, though this format is not without it's shortcomings. It may presuppose certain orders of events (eschatology) in the order the events are given, and it may cause for overlapping accounts, but plans that have you read from the OT/NT/Psalms each day could cause many readers to become confused with the multiple timelines.
The bible in its' self is enough for a person to understand what they need to do in life. I was fortunate in having a church, a bible study group, friends and family around me to help in my growth. Don't get this wrong, you only need to be willing to ask, because so many don't want to feel ignorant about what is in the bible. I took then gave indepth bible study classes that went from Genesis to Revelations and took about three hours a week for 36 weeks. I learned a lot when I took the class and a lot more when I gave the class. Some of the simplest questions could take the better part of a week to explain or to understand. We will not know the whole of what God wants for us until we see his most wonderful son. So weather you want to be alone or in a group, read the bible and learn so much about this world and how wonderful he made it. I don't know if I should plug my new book or not, but it deals with the shy disciple who needs a little help in understanding what to do and how to do it. In God's Grace John
I often wonder if we lean on the written word too heavily. It's undoubtedly very powerful, but how are we to think of and approach the oral cultures that still exist? Creating a language for them, as translators often do, is a good thing, but I think we need to be careful not to override their oral traditions with our Western ideas.

How differently did believers approach Scripture before Gutenberg, before the mass production of the written word? Obviously God values the written word, He created it (right, at least in some form or fashion?). But he also created a myriad of other methods of communication including oral and visual such as painting and sculpture.

Are we more literal or legalistic cultures since the invention of the printing press? Most of us will think this is a good thing, to have Scripture so widely available, but I'm very curious to know if there are people who can think of reasons why it's a danger as well . . .
...for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

Interesting that "spirit" and "breath" are the same word in Greek and Hebrew and speaking orally is "breathing ideas".
1. No personal knowledge of a Bible-only salvation. One hears of the salesman reading a Gideon's KJV in a hotel and accepting Christ, but, even then, one infers a seed planted earlier in life.
2. The Gospels, John being the personal fave.
3. The guide is less important than the commitment, as the spiritual diet resembles the physical.

Overall, the commitment to the Bible itself is one thing, but the implicit de-emphasis on the ~2,000 years of occasionally dodgy "Tradition" since the closing of the canon is also an important point.
I don't really want to paint a target on my back, and I am getting ready to leave to to do a youth retreat, but I think many people have an unhealthy view of the Bible. Basically, I think it is over-rated.
I am in at least one conversation a month with people who were brought up with the view that the Bible is sufficient, that now question their faith when they find out that:

1. we don't have any original copies and that there are some things that seem to contradict each other
2. the Bible seems to contradict facts in science
3. there are some things which could most likely be transcription errors

I'm not saying that the Bible isn't true in it's claim to teach and rebuke, but I don't think the Bible, separate from a relationship with God and his people, is enough, or at least healthy. In fact, I would say that many churches abuse the Bible (and their relationship with God) in many ways that they teach it to people.

So I would say that the Bible alone is a pretty poor expectation of faith.
@Paul,
I might echo your thoughts along the lines of: Idolatry is possible anywhere, including concerning the Word of God itself. There is even a fellow who has claimed that the KJV represents God's final edit, and all else should be synchronized to that. Ahem, not amen!
One of the best "Far Side" cartoons ever was one that showed two deer in the field. One deer is looking at the other and saying to him, "Bummer of a birthmark, Hal," and the deer he is talking to has a huge target on him...

I had all 3 of your "reasons the Bible is not sufficient" thrown my way, even by a college Philosophy of Religion professor who was also an ordained minister (his philosophy: the Bible was pretty much a myth). Each time one of these reasons came my way, it compelled me to deeper study of the Word and because of this, my faith was strengthened. Either the Bible is truth and is a solid rock to base our Christian faith upon, or it is a sandy foundation for our faith. I have discovered that Paul the Apostle spoke truly when he said, "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by the Word of God."

Lots of churches may abuse the Bible, but so do individual believers. Since relationship with God comes through faith in the living Christ as revealed in the Word of God, then I would say the Bible is absolutely pre-eminent in all things pertaining to the Christian faith. Even if one sees the witness of a Christian or a church and because of this witness wants that kind of faith, well, both that believer and that church came about because of the Bible's teachings, not the other way around.
That's funny. We were taught all of those in Catholic school growing up, and nobody ever took it as much of a challenge to the faith. In college, I had one of those philosophy professors too, (philosophy nerdout ALERT) really into guys like Whitehead and things like Process theology. As a double major, I realized early on that most liberal theologians have no reply to good sociological question-asking and research and couldn't have anticipated epistemics and phenomenologies to come, that we don't yet have a reasonable framework for understanding how people relate to myths, and that religion and "mere" myth are just not the same socio-cultural animal, and put the whole thing to bed. 100 years of post-Existentialist fever dreams and quaint, flimsy attempts to syncretize Buddhism and Christianity that nobody on either side could have any respect for.
Liberal theologians are a lot like fundamentalist theologians. Both are convinced that their personal knowledge is The Truth, and dismiss other viewpoints as hopelessly naive, ignorant, or wrong. When will we learn that when it comes to knowing God, we are ALL like the blind men trying to describe the elephant? The Bible is the only guide we have -- and I have no interest in any other guide to understanding it -- but when it comes to understanding the Bible, we are again all like the blind men trying to describe an elephant. Two different translations in the same language don't agree, and just try to reconcile translations in two different languages. But, those points on which there is the greatest agreement among all translations provide the best common framework we can all share -- if we accept it.
1. Nicky Gumble came to believe by reading the NT in one fell swoop in an attempt to refute it and "save" his convert friends!
2. Start with some other (apologetic) book ;-) But seriously, if we're talking Bible I'd rather read John or Romans _with_ them because folk just get confused and repelled without guidance.
3. Dan Patrick's "The Second Most Important Book You'll Ever Read" taught me to start somewhere other than Genesis.

I take a somewhat unorthodox view of the Bible ("reliable, special" as opposed to "inerrant, holy") and think many have mistaken the sign for the destination ala John 5:39:
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;


I imagine Jesus inserting at the semi-colon:
...but look up from your books lads, here I AM...
I think anyone who suggests that the Bible alone is sufficient to bring someone to salvation is misreading the Bible - all conversion happens through the intervention of the Holy Spirit. But I'm guessing that's not quite what you meant.

I've heard stories of people converted only by reading the Bible, but, as with all stories, it's difficult to attest to their authenticity. I'm guessing the place to look is in places like China - maybe a read of Brother Andrew would bring up some cases?

I, and I'm guessing most evangelicals, would recommend people start with reading the gospels. Mark if they want a quick read. Luke is my personal preference, and follows nicely into Acts. From there, I would recommend continuing through the NT before tackling the OT.

I'm sure there are plenty of good guides and commentaries out there for Bible reading. One of my favourite overview books is called "The Bible From Scratch" by Simon Jenkins - it's a brilliant little book with loads of useful information presented in an informal style with cartoons and the like. It has information on every book of the Bible, and extra detail for the main characters and themes. I've had my copy for >15 years and they're still selling it, so it can't be bad ;)
My suggestion for a believer is to start at the beginning (Genesis 1:1) and read every word all the way to the end (Rev 22:21) of the Holy Bible. This gives a more complete understanding of who our Wonderous GOD is, what HE's done for us by the death, burial and resurrection of our LORD & Saviour JESUS CHRIST, and how we are to live for HIS Glory. There are also many truths that are stated, restated, and then built upon by reading the Bible as we do all other books - from the start to the finish. Read what the Holy Bible has to say "All scripture is given by the inspiration of GOD, and is profitable for doctrine, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of GOD may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." (II Timothy 3:16, 17 KJV)
The advice I give to a new beliver or someone that's Lost Read the book of James and then the book of John And I'll come back in a couple of Days So You call tell Me what You think and I'll try answer any questions if I can't answer them We'll talk to someone that can I know Lots of People

See the latest in:

Promotion

promo 1 promo 2
promo 3 promo 4

Donate Now